Liquid container with integral mounting means



M. W. HELM June 14, 1966 LIQUID CONTAINER WITH INTEGRAL MOUNTING MEANSFiled Aug. 31, 1964 United States Patent 3,255,913 LIQUID CONTAINER WITHINTEGRAL MOUNTING MEANS Mark W. Helm, Canton, Ohio, assignor to TheHoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Aug. 31,1964, Ser. No. 393,117 3 Claims. (Cl. 220-18) The present inventionrelates to an improved mounting means for liquid containers. Theimproved mounting means is especially suitable for use with liquidcontainers which are blow molded from thermoplastic material.

Where this type of liquid container is to be provided with brackets formounting on a wall or some other device it is very advantageous to havethe brackets firmly secured to the container so as to be an integralpart thereof. If the mounting brackets are separate elements which gripthe container only when the container is in its posi- -tion of use itoften happens that the brackets become lost and new ones must beobtained before the container can be used again. Also, with separatebrackets it is a problem to pack and store the container withoutoverlooking or misplacing the mounting brackets.

Liquid containers made of blow molded thermoplastic material are usuallyvery thin walled and prior art devices have rivets extending completelythrough the wall to secure mounting brackets on the container. This isunsatisfactory because the rivet holes have a tendency to leak.

Liquid containers made of blow molded thermoplastic material have foundwide acceptance as wax or detergent dispenser bottles on floor polishersor the like. Many of those in use require cooperating brackets on thehandle of the floor polisher and the handle must be specially designedor a separate attachment provided.

Therefore, it is a primary object of my invention to provide a blowmolded thermoplastic container with integral mounting means in such amanner that there will be no tendency for the container to leak.

It is another object of my invention to provide a blow moldedthermoplastic container with integral mounting brackets so that thecontainer can be secured to a device without the need for separateattaching means or a special design of the device to which the containeris secured.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent tothose skilled in the art from the follow ing description wherein:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation of the rear of a container with mountingbrackets integral therewith.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the container in FIGURE 1 with parts insection for clarity.

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view on the lines 33 of FIGURE 1showing the manner in which a bracket is secured to a container.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken on lines 44 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 5 is a section of part of a mold used to make the container ofFIGURES 1-4.

Referring now to the drawing, FIGURE 1 shows a container 1 havingmounting brackets 2 and 3 secured thereto. The container has a fillspout 4 and a discharge spout 5. Of course, the container could takemany other forms and have only a top opening or only a bottom opening.As shown in FIGURES 24, container 1 has rectangular metal plates 6 and 7molded into the wall thereof. The exterior surface of the wall of thecontainer covers a peripheral area on the front of plates 6 and 7 asshown to effectively trap plates 6 and 7 and prevent their sepanationfrom container 1.

The plates 6 and 7 are trapped in the wall of container 1 in the mannershownin FIGURE 5. The cavity of mold section 8 is provided withprojecting posts 9 and 10 which are of rectangular cross-sectionalshape. Secured to posts 9 and 1 0 are centrally located pins 11 and 12.Plates 6 and 7 have centrally located holes therein through which pins11 and 12 extend when plates 6 and 7 are placed on posts 9 and 10.Plates 6 and 7 are of slightly larger rectangular shape than thecross-section of posts 9 and 10 so that the peripheral portion of plates6 and 7 projects beyond the periphery of posts 9 and 10. When thethermoplastic material 13 is blown against the walls of the mold cavityit forms around the plates in the manner shown in FIGURE 5. Self-tappingscrews 14 and 15 are then threaded into the holes in plates 6 and 7 tosecure mounting brackets 2 and 3 to container 1. Plates 6 and 7 havedimples 16 and 17 stamped therein to fit in holes 18 and 19 in mountingbrackets 2 and 3 to prevent rotation of the brackets about screws 14 and15.

As seen in FIGURE 3, the sidewall of the container is reversely bentinwardly two times in succession as at 20 and 21 to form a recessextending parallel to the sidewall and plate 6 is received or trapped inthe recess.

It will be noted that the interior surface of container 1 is continuousso that the possibility of leaks is practically eliminated.

The container may be made of any blow moldable thermoplastic materialand in preferred embodiments the thermoplastic is of relatively highdensity. Examples of suitable high density polyethylenes are Marlex 5003available from Phillips Chemical Company and Tenite 3400 available fromEastman Chemical Company.

Those skilled in the art will be aware that plates 6 and 7 could takemany other shapes and it is not necessary that the exterior surface ofthe container overlies the entire periphery of the plates. For example,plates 6 and 7 can be of such -a size that only two edges extend beyondthe periphery of posts 9 and 1.0. Also, plates 6 and 7 can have amounting means integral therewith when the container is molded so thatit would be unnecessary to attach other parts after the molding step.The mounting means could also be a handle.

It will be noted that pins 11 and 12 in the mold cavity projectcompletely through plates 6 and 7, and extend for some distance into thecavity. This arrangement provides a hollow space in the finishedcontainer immediately behind the holes in plates 6 and 7. Thus, whenscrews 14 :and 15 are threaded through the holes in plates 6 and 7 theycan extend some distance in back of the plates without any danger ofrupturing the sidewall of container 1. With this feature the length ofthe screws and the distance they are screwed into the plates is not socritical as it would be if the hollow space had not been provided.

With the embodiment shown in the drawing there is provided theadvantageous feature of being able to attach any number of sizes andstyles of brackets 2 and 3. Thus, the mold and the container need not bechanged in order to adapt the container for attachment to variousdevices and devices of dilferent sizes. All that is necessary is toattach the desired brackets to plates 6 and 7.

In the specific embodiment of my invention shown in the drawing brackets2 and 3 are spring clips which are adapted to be snapped on the handleof a floor polisher or the like. My container with integral mountingmeans is capable of rather universal use because it would fit on thehandle of any floor polisher or the like. This is a distinct advantageover the type of mounting means which requires a specially designedhandle. My container has mounting brackets rigidly secured thereto so asto become an integral part thereof and there is no danger of thebrackets becoming lost.

From the foregoing it will be apparent to those skilled in the art thatthe present invention and its advantageous features represent asubstantial improvement over prior art devices.

While only one embodiment of the present invention has been shown anddescribed it is to be understood that this embodiment is onlyillustrative and is not to be taken in a limiting sense. The presentinvention includes all equivalent variations of the disclosed embodimentand is limited only by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A blow molded container of thermoplastic material, said containerincluding a continuous sidewall,

(a) a rigid mounting member trapped in said sidewall,

(b) said mounting member having a polygonal shape defining a pluralityof side edges and having substantially plane opposite surfaces definingparallel front and rear faces,

(c) said side edges spanning said front and rear faces and beingsubstantially perpendicular thereto,

(d) said front face having a peripheral face portion adjacent each ofsaid side edges,

(e) said rear face being substantially covered by and in contact withthe exterior surface of said sidewall,

(f) and at least -a portion of each of said peripheral face portions andside edges being covered by and in contact with the exterior surface ofsaid sidewall,

(g) whereby said mounting member is immovably trapped in the sidewall ofsaid container.

2. The container of claim 1 wherein said rigid mounting member has ahole extending therethrough from said front face to said rear face, theexterior surface of said sidewall extending inwardly toward the interiorof said container in the region of said hole to define a hollow spaceadjacent said rear face in alignment with said hole.

3. The container of claim 2 whereina bracket member is secured to saidmounting member by a screw extending through said bracket member andsaid hole in said mounting member, said screw having a forward portionreceived in said hollow space, one of said members having a projectionextending therefrom and the other of said members having a recesstherein, said projection and recess being interdigitated to preventrotation of said bracket member with respect to said mounting memberabout said screw.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,163,332 12/1964Boyle et al. 220-18 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

I. B. MARBERT, Assistant Examiner.

1. A BLOW MOLDED CONTAINER OF THERMOPLASTIC MATERIAL, SAID CONTAINERINCLUDING A CONTINUOUS SIDEWALL, (A) A RIGID MOUNTING MEMBER TRAPPED INSAID SIDEWALL, (B) SAID MOUNTING MEMBER HAVING A POLYGONAL SHAPEDEFINING A PLURALITY OF SIDE EDGES AND HAVING SUBSTANTIALLY PLANEOPPOSITE SURFACES DEFINING PARALLEL FRONT AND REAR FACES, (C) SAID SIDEEDGES SPANNING SAID FRONT AND REAR FACES AND BEING SUBSTANTIALLYPERPENDICULAR THERETO, (D) SAID FRONT FACE HAVING A PERIPHERAL FACEPORTION ADJACENT EACH OF SAID SIDE EDGES, (E) SAID REAR FACE BINGSUBSTANTIALLY COVERED BY AND IN CONTACT WITH THE EXTERIOR SURFACE OFSAID SIDEWALL, (F) AND AT LEAST A PORTION OF EACH OF SAID PERIPHERALFACE PORTIONS AND SIDE EDGES BEING COVERED BY AND IN CONTACT WITH THEEXTERIOR SURFACE OF SAID SIDEWALL, (G) WHEREBY SAID MOUNTING MEMBER ISIMMOVABLY TRAPPED IN THE SIDEWALL OF SAID CONTAINER.